Guwahati: Poverty and a lack of better coaching facilities in Manipur had made their dream to study in IITs and NITs a distant dream.
However, the army's Senapati brigade under the Red Shield division has made their dream come true by providing them free coaching, boarding facilities and continuous guidance since August last under its Manipur Super 30 programme.
Sixteen students, including three girls from Senapati district in Manipur, cracked the final entrance conducted on May 20, of which six qualified for admission in IITs and 10 in NITs.
As many as 18 students were selected for the coaching by the Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL) here under the programme.
"The batch selected after due process was flagged off to Guwahati in mid-August 2017. The selection process comprised of a competitive written test followed by personal interview by the CSRL faculty at Leimakhong, Manipur. The students were provided with exclusive coaching for IIT/JEE along with free boarding and lodging facilities here. The guidance by the CSRL faculty and the hard work and dedication of the students has been duly reflected in the IIT/JEE mains result declared on April 30 wherein 16 students passed. The selected students were trained and guided by the faculty of CSRL for IIT/JEE advance exams held on May 20," defence spokesperson Lt Col P. Khongsai said here on Monday.
This is first such programme of the army for students in the militancy-hit Northeast.
The army has also started similar programmes in Jammu and Kashmir for the benefit of the students.
"The focus of the project isprimarily to provide quality coaching and guidance to meritorious and deserving students with emphasis on providing an opportunity and a suitable platform to the economically deprived children of society. Being the first batch, the results will inspire other deserving and meritorious students to work with zeal and seize the golden opportunity to shape their future through Super 30 in the future. This was a pilot project in Senapati and we hope to extend this to other districts in Manipur," Khongsai said.
With militancy continue to be a serious issue, students Manipur struggle to crack major entrance exams like IIT/JEE or medical entrance.
